- BIG STORY, Obituary: U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, 1955-2026
- ROUNDUP: S.C. Republicans eye Senate seat as filing nears
- LOWCOUNTRY, Ariail: Together again
- BRACK: America’s common good is in crisis
- MYSTERY PHOTO: Big box
- FEEDBACK: Great recap on positions
Lindsey Graham, 1955-2026
U.S. Senate power broker and Trump ally dies at 71
By Jack O’Toole, Statehouse bureau | Lindsey Olin Graham, whose soft South Carolina drawl belied a fierce ambition that carried him from sweeping the floor of his father’s small-town barroom to commanding the floor of the United States Senate, died unexpectedly on July 11. He was 71.
Graham’s office reported his death in an early morning July 12 news release, noting that he’d “passed away from a brief and sudden illness.” A preliminary report from the Washington, D.C. medical examiner’s office later indicated that Graham died from an aortic dissection — a tear in the main artery that carries blood from the heart to the rest of the body.
On July 13, S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster named Graham’s sister, Darline Graham Nordone, to complete her brother’s Senate term, which ends in January 2027. (She will be known as Darline Graham in the Senate.) A special GOP primary election will be held on Aug. 11 to select a new nominee to face general election opponents, including Democratic nominee Annie Andrews, in the fall.
Graham’s death came just one day after his return from Ukraine, his tenth trip to the embattled democracy since Russia invaded in 2022. A foreign policy hawk who was said to be Ukraine’s best friend in President Donald Trump’s inner circle, Graham used his final trip to highlight Ukraine’s wartime successes and to call for tougher U.S. sanctions on Russian oil.
Trump, who said he’d spoken with Graham in the hours before his death, was among the first to offer condolences in a 3:21 a.m. social media post, calling him “one of the greatest people and senators I have ever known.”
“He was always working, and was a true American patriot,” Trump wrote. “Lindsey will be greatly missed!!!”
Remembering Lindsey
Public condolences and remembrances poured in through the rest of the night and into the rest of Sunday, as leaders across the nation and around the world lauded the politically controversial but personally well-liked senator for his service to the nation.
Gov. Henry McMaster said he and his wife Peggy were “devastated” by the news, calling Graham a “steadfast friend” and “the fiercest of fighters for South Carolina and America.”
“We grieve with [Graham’s sister] Darline, his family and his devoted staff,” McMaster said in a release. “May God hold him gently in the palm of his hand. We shall not see his likes again.”
Meanwhile, former national Democratic Party Chairman Jaime Harrison, who ran an unsuccessful Senate campaign against Graham in 2020, added his voice to the bipartisan condolences, saying he was “deeply saddened” by Graham’s passing.
“Lindsey and I had our share of political disagreements, and those differences were often significant,” Harrison said. “But today is not a day for politics. It is a day to recognize a life of public service and to extend our prayers to those who loved him.”
In Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called Graham “a beloved friend.”
“May his values and initiatives continue to guide us toward victory and peace, and may his memory forever be a blessing,” he said.
And in a social media post, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Graham was “a true defender of freedom and the values that make our world safer.”
“America and the world have lost a determined leader,” Zelensky said, noting that the two had met twice during the senator’s trip.
From poverty to power
Graham’s Ukraine visit was the final public act in a life that began in 1955 in the small Pickens County town of Central, S.C. His parents, Millie Walters and Florence James Graham, ran the Sanitary Cafe, a bar and pool hall on Main Street. The family, which later included his younger sister Darline, lived in a cramped room behind the business, Graham later said. They eventually moved into a nearby trailer.
“It’s not a log cabin like Abe Lincoln,” Graham’s law school roommate Warren Mowry told PBS in 2015. “But he grew up in a mobile home, which is South Carolina’s equivalent of it, I guess.”
Like many South Carolinians, Graham’s ticket upwards was the local public school, college at the University of South Carolina and U.S. Air Force ROTC — a path that was complicated but not interrupted by the death of his parents in the mid-1970s while he was still in school.
After earning undergraduate and law degrees at USC, Graham served as an active-duty U.S. Air Force lawyer from 1982 to 1989. He then moved back to the Upstate, where he won a seat in the S.C. House in 1992.
Graham followed that up two years later with a win in the U.S. House race to replace retiring Third District Democratic Rep. Butler Derrick and ride the national GOP wave that made Georgia’s Newt Gingrich the first Republican speaker of the U.S. House in 40 years. After making a national name for himself as a House prosecutor in the 1999 impeachment trial of President Bill Clinton, Graham was elected to the Senate three years later, following the retirement of U.S. Sen. Strom Thurmond.
A rocky partnership
Though known to most Americans primarily as a TV talking head — it’s no accident that he was second only to his friend, the late Sen. John McCain, in Meet the Press appearances when he died — Graham was also a quiet master of the Senate, eventually chairing both the Judiciary and Budget committees.
From those perches, Graham helped orchestrate the confirmation of hundreds of federal judges for presidents of both parties, and secured passage of Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” budget plan, which slash taxes for the wealthy, health care spending and food assistance.
But it was his sometimes rocky partnership with the equally TV-rapt Trump that dominated the final years of Graham’s professional life, leading to a decade of zigs and zags that occasionally left even his most ardent admirers wondering where his deepest principles lay:
- Was he the bipartisan deal-maker who tried to pass comprehensive immigration reform — or the hard-right restrictionist who supported Trump’s second-term crackdown?
- Was he the 2016 GOP presidential primary candidate who called Trump “unfit for office” — or the golfing buddy who later insisted “there’s a method to the madness”?
- Was he the longtime JAG Corps attorney who extolled the rule of law — or the Trump confidante who first condemned and then excused the January 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol?
And perhaps, at bottom: Was his sometimes-fawning latter-day friendship with Trump a betrayal of the ideals that first brought him to Washington — or a carefully calculated strategy to protect them?
Asked once by the journalist Mark Leibovich to explain why he always found his way back to Trump, Graham’s answer could be read either way.
“Try to be relevant,” he said.
For decades, from Central to Washington to Tel Aviv and Kyiv and beyond, he was.
Jack O’Toole is Statehouse bureau chief for Statehouse Report and the Charleston City Paper. Have a comment? Send to: feedback@statehousereport.com
S.C. Republicans eye Senate seat as filing nears
By Jack O’Toole, Statehouse bureau | The shocking July 11 death of U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham put three big questions at the top of Palmetto State political watchers’ agendas:
- Who would Gov. Henry McMaster appoint to complete Graham’s Senate term through Jan. 3?
- Who would run in the special Aug. 11 GOP primary to replace him on this November’s ballot?
- And who would be eligible to vote in that primary?
Two of those questions got quick answers this week. On July 13, McMaster appointed Graham’s sister, Darline Graham Nordone, to serve out the remainder of her brother’s term. The next day, she was sworn in with word that she would use her legal name, Darline Graham, in the Senate.
On July 15, the S.C. Election Commission ruled any registered voter who didn’t participate in last month’s June 9 Democratic primary will be eligible to vote in the special Aug. 11 primary.
But with the filing period for the race set to open July 21, the third question – who is running – is still up in the air, as potential candidates jockey for position and speculation focuses on a handful of leading contenders.
U.S. Rep. Russell Fry: Representing the 7th District since 2023, Fry is said to be President Donald Trump’s first choice for the seat — a claim that Trump seemed to encourage when he went out of his way to call Fry “outstanding” in a July 13 interview.
Former Gov. and U.S. Rep. Mark Sanford: Sanford, who pulled out of this year’s 1st District GOP primary at the last minute, reportedly filed paperwork on Thursday to change the name of his shuttered U.S. House campaign committee to “Mark Sanford for Senate,” fueling speculation that he’s about to jump into the race.
Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette: After two terms as McMaster’s understudy, Evette’s run for the top job crashed last month when she lost the GOP gubernatorial runoff to state Attorney General Alan Wilson 69% to31%. But sources close to Evette told CBS News this week that she’s been “inundated” with requests to run.
U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman: Norman, who gave up his 5th District House seat for a third-place finish in last month’s GOP primary for governor, has made it clear he’s looking at the race, but hasn’t yet formally announced.
U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace: Like Norman, the 1st District congresswoman gave up her seat in an unsuccessful governor’s run, coming in dead last in a field of five. Nevertheless, she’s said to be looking hard at the race.
Mark Lynch: The Upstate businessman who finished a distant second to Graham in the June primary is the only candidate who’s formally said he’s running to date.
Gov. Henry McMaster: While the term-limited McMaster hasn’t given any indication to date that he’s looking at a bid, his longtime popularity among GOP and general election voters have kept his name in the mix.
Darline Graham: Though perceived by many to be a placeholder, the now-incumbent senator has not said she won’t seek the seat.
Other names being mentioned include former U.S. Rep. Trey Gowdy and former governors David Beasley and Nikki Haley, though none have publicly expressed an interest in the race.
Polling on the race has so far been light, but an Emerson College Polling/Nexstar Media survey released July 16 showed “Undecided” leading the field at 18%. Other results: Norman (16.4%), Lynch (12.5%), Mace (10.1%), Evette (9.9%), Fry (9.4%), McMaster (7.7%) and Mark Sanford (5.4%).
In other recent news
Darline Graham sworn in as new U.S. senator, replacing brother. Darline Graham, the sister of late Sen. Lindsey Graham, was sworn in to serve the remainder of his term on Tuesday afternoon, two days after her brother died at age 71 from an aortic dissection.
With S.C. budget at an impasse, legislators float not passing one at all. The negotiating committee could strike more than $430 million in legislative pet projects along with expanded property tax breaks for older homeowners, or the committee could forgo passing a new budget entirely, leaving annual funding at the same levels passed last year.
- Stalled S.C. projects due to stalled budget
- S.C. Lottery generates near-record $606.8M for education
Guffey urges lawmakers to pursue AI accountability. S.C. Rep. Brandon Guffey, R-York, pushed for more AI accountability legislation in a Washington conference.
Clemson to help fix statewide power grid. Clemson University has been tapped as part of a multi-partner, federally funded Carolinas power-grid enhancement effort that aims to deliver safe, reliable and cost-effective electricity — all the more pressing as artificial intelligence, data centers, advanced manufacturing and a ballooning population increase demand in the region.
Man sentenced to nine years in prison for Columbia-area hate crime. Jonathan Felkel, who pleaded guilty in federal court to firing a gun in the direction of one of his Black neighbors because of the color of the victim’s skin, will spend nine years in prison, a judge decided this week.
City Paper wins 18 state, national awards. The editorial board of the Charleston City Paper won first place in a national contest among independent newspapers for best editorial commentary in the country. The paper’s Statehouse Report coverage picked up a third-place win for best short form news story for a piece about the health of S.C. fisheries.
Together again
Award-winning cartoonist Robert Ariail has a special knack for poking a little fun in just the right way. This week, he takes a swipe at political changes embodied in the career of the late U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.
- Love this week’s cartoon or hate it? Did he go too far, or not far enough? Send your thoughts to feedback@statehousereport.com.
Brack: America’s common good is in crisis
Commentary by Andy Brack | To understand the erosion of how Americans interact these days, just look to our recent story of vaccinations.
For years, parents routinely got children inoculated so they wouldn’t get dreaded diseases like crippling polio or measles or diphtheria. They understood vaccines would protect their kids and their communities. Then along came Covid-19. Some 1.2 million Americas died – but many millions more didn’t die because they got a vaccine.
Unfortunately, anti-vaccine skeptics started moaning and groaning about the vaccine, which led to Americans questioning other vaccines that had been working for years. America, in fact, virtually erased the scourge of measles through a community-saving vaccine. But despite evidence, these folks looked away.
This year in South Carolina, particularly in Spartanburg County, too many decided they didn’t want their children vaccinated. As a result, measles raged for the first time in years, sickening 997 people and causing a national panic.
In short, the story of vaccines shows the unhealthy pivot from an America strengthened by communities to a me-focused culture that, in one sense, puts America last. We’ve gone from a common good culture of shared prosperity to a country of personal belief systems that prioritizes selfishness. We’re more “me” than “we.”
U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., outlines how this shift in the nation’s focus is dangerous in a new book: Crisis of the Common Good: The fight for meaning and connection in a broken America (Farrar, Strus and Giroux, $29.00).
He explores the disintegration of our communities and how the short-term focus on political and economic gain is threatening the strengths of the nation’s communities.
“Everything in America not nailed down has become a commodity – even middle school hockey,” Murphy writes. “Every minute of our lives is fodder for profit maximization. And when everything exists primarily for someone else’s gain – even your child’s Saturday-afternoon game – it breeds emptiness and resentment. That discontent doesn’t stay contained. It spills, inevitably, into our politics.”
The book outlines why many Americans feel empty and unsatisfied because they aren’t connected to neighbors as much as they were two generations ago.
“It is the story of how we came to worship a set of false idols, causing us to forget the bond between true happiness and a connected life full of shared purpose with people about whom you care deeply.”
Murphy, who will be in Charleston July 24 to politick and talk about his book, noted that the country has gotten wealthier and more just over the last 50 years in many ways.
“But we have also retreated from shared prosperity, social contracts and small communities, building altars instead to profit, efficiency, consumer culture, technology, elite credentialism and winner-takes-all politics that consecrates corruption.”
After several chapters about various cults – the unhealthy focus on profit, technology, consumption and more – that have infected the nation’s psyche, Murphy offers 30 political prescriptions to thwart this crisis of the common good. Four examples:
- Increase the minimum wage to a living wage. Three in four Americans, he writes, support a $20 per hour minimum wage.
- Create a social capital fund. It would “support organizations, projects and ‘third places’ in communities that serve to connect individuals to one another.”
- Protect our spiritual health from poisonous technology. He recommends restricting children’s use of social media and holding social media companies liable for harms they cause.
- Require six months of national service for young Americans. Such a policy would restore the value of citizenship.
Five years ago, this space showcased how the nation of common good is built into America’s DNA to shrug off an oppressive system and take control of our destiny.
“The underlying principle generally was that people, not a king, would decide how to do things, which would benefit the majority. In challenging times for the common good, people were to give a little to save a lot down the road. Give some in taxes to build a road to benefit all. Give a little to provide for the common defense, education, good working conditions and economic infrastructure.”
We need to get back to the business of bolstering the common good, not tearing down America from the inside.
Andy Brack is editor and publisher of Statehouse Report and the Charleston City Paper. Have a comment? Send to: feedback@statehousereport.com.
Big box
Where and what is this? For bonus points, tell us why it might be significant considering news over the last week. Please send in your best guess – and your name and hometown – to feedback@statehousereport.com. And if you have a mystery photo to share, send that along too (but tell us what it is because we’re horrible guessers.)
Last week’s mystery, “Orange object,” should have been pretty easy. It showed the 135-foot “peachoid” water tower in Gaffney that travelers on Interstate 85 often gawk at.
Hats off to all of the sleuths who tracked down this mystery: Allan Peel of San Antonio, Texas; Jay Altman, Clare Morris and Dalton Tresvant, all of Columbia; Susan Richardson of North Myrtle Beach; Steve Willis of Lancaster; Bill Segars and Don Clark; Karen Owens of Georgetown; George Graf of Palmyra, Va.; and Walter Tobin.
- SHARE: If you have a Mystery Photo to share, please send it to us – and make sure you tell us what it is!
Great recap on positions
To the editor: The article on “High prices” is an excellent recap of the positions of the two gubernatorial candidates on affordability.
One candidate looks at only one side of the equation: cost. The other candidate looks at both sides of the equation : revenue and cost.
We have a consumption-driven economy and the likelihood of impacting consumer spending favors the approach of increasing the minimum wage and reducing the tax burden. This distributes the benefit to families at all levels of the economic spectrum with the potential of reducing the reliance on public assistance.
– George Swindell, Greenwood S.C.
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Statehouse Report, founded in 2001 as a weekly legislative forecast that informs readers about what is going to happen in South Carolina politics and policy, is provided by email to you at no charge every Friday.
- Editor and publisher: Andy Brack, 843.670.3996
- Statehouse bureau chief: Jack O’Toole
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